What It Means To Be Home
by Skye Phan
Summary: After numerous cases of mysterious blackouts and explosions of blue flames at a local orphanage due to a new orphan, Endeavor agrees to take her under his wing. Could she be the key to repairing his relationship with the rest of the Todoroki Household? Set before the U.A. Sports Festival. OC's are wanted! Check Ch. 3 for more details
1. Chapter 1: A Dream

Hello guys! It's Skye here. Thank you for reading my first try at a story. I hope you enjoy~

I'm hoping on making more chapters, so if someone is interested in being a proofreader/co-author that would be amazing!

-Skye

It all started on a simple beach.

Although she had never actually seen a body of water larger than a bathtub, she knew that the glistening expanse of bright blue water had to be the ocean. Without a moment of hesitation, she sprang forward towards the shoreline.

The sun rays gently shown down with a pale blue sky for a backdrop. As she ran, she could sense others behind her, but she didn't have time to look back, all that mattered to her was the freedom that the waves offered. Her bare feet flew through the sand as she sprinted towards the water. The air smelled of salt and the waves softly rolled upon the shore. A smile lit up her face while she waded into the clear water. Waves playfully lapped at her knees and she could have sworn she heard a gull crying above.

All fears and worries were erased as she walked the shore and watched as creatures she never knew about carried on with their life. It didn't take her long to become thoroughly obsessed with a small creature encapsulated in a small curvy shell. She squatted down to watch as it slowly made its way around the sandy bottom while waves gently rolled overhead to meet with the girls toes. The hermit crab's movements captured all of her attention. A state of awe rolled over her at the small creatures sideways movements and strange mannerisms. While she was awestruck with the crab, she didn't notice the waves starting to build up around her. Although the large waves all avoided her, one started to build up courage and charged towards her. It wasn't until her small friend was swept backwards that she lifted her head to see the wave racing towards her.

Her body was frozen in a mixture of awe and fear as the wave broke over her head in slow motion. It was if she had become part of the shore, for she watched as the wave carried a strange menagerie of objects above her. Like a pro surfer riding under a wave, the girl stared as bubbles, chains, a shard of ice, a singular baby shoe, an eyepatch, and her small hermit crab friend washed overhead.

There was a second of silence before the roar of water crashed in her ears and she was suddenly being sucked out to sea. The once beautiful sky had become ugly and scarred with large black clouds. Although she was thrashing about, she couldn't stay afloat. It was if her limbs were becoming tangled together and moving through molasses

A scream ripped through her throat as she was sucked under. The silence cascaded over her struggling body as the surface drew father and farther away. A black fog shot through the water and began to descend around her body. With a final last cry, the girl let her eyes start to close as the storm started to rage over her head. It was in the same second that lightning flashed overhead that a bright orange flame entered her vision. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her still body and brought her close.

"You will survive, I guarantee it. Just wait my child and you will see. I won't let you go."

The voice started deep and comforting, almost fatherly, but it began to morph and grow more distorted and cracked. Her eyes filled with tears of both joy and terror as everything started to fade once more to black. The last thing that she saw was the orange flames and two blue eyes burning bright.


	2. Chapter 2: Night Time

A special thanks to BloodyBleedingRose for their amazing help with editing this story!

I hope you guys enjoy~

The sigh that came from the Care Office when the entire facility was shrouded in black fog could be heard from blocks away.

"What time is it this time?" A weary woman asked.

"Just a little past 1 o'clock," came the tired answer.

Another sigh passed around the room as beds creaked from their occupants leaving. An older woman held out her hand and a small light illuminated the room. There was around 10 people in the room and 3 more already out the door.

"Jirara what does it look like?" The older woman let the light grow slightly larger and started to walk towards the door.

"I think she's having another fit, Ejima. Looks like you need to get up," Ejima groaned in harmony with his bed springs as he got to his feet and rubbed his eyes.

"Well, let's go I guess," his voice was still husky with sleep, but his brown eyes were strangely alert and awake. His quirk, Deactivate, was quite useful at the orphanage, however it had its drawbacks. He could stop quirks from being active, however themore often that he used it on one person's quirk, the less effective it became. Because of this he was only called in for large fights or outbursts, however, since the girl had arrived in their care, he had been called on to use his quirk every single night. It was only the seventh night, but already the time he could hold her quirk back had been halved, if she stayed much longer, they would have to take more drastic measures.

The two continued on their way towards the girl's room in silence. Already, the dark fog had thickened to the point of Jirara having to increase her light to illuminate a large room. However, the pair could hardly see the steps in front of them when scream ricocheted through the hallway, as the darkness started to solidify. With a shared glance, Jirara and Ejima broke into a run towards the girl's room.

The nametag 'Yukina Ana' was plastered on door that was illuminated by a strange blue light from the inside. Within seconds, Ejima had broken down the door and barreled through the flames to reach the girl's side. The moment he let his hand rest on her tangled form, the flames were abruptly extinguished, and the darkness suddenly lifted.

Burn marks stained the walls and the door of the room. Ana was entangled with what remained of her sheets in the middle of her bed. A bead of sweat rolled down her face as she gasped for breath. The silence that met them within a matter of minutes seemed to scream with tension and exhaustion.

Ejima was trembling with exhaustion by the time that the young girl's breathing pattern returned to normal. He cautiously removed his hand from her scarred arm and began to back away. It was hard for him to imagine what kind of life she had lived for her to be in this condition. Although he himself was just beginning his 30's, he felt as if he was older, much older than the time before he met Ana.

She had mysteriously shown up on their doorstep only a week ago. All she had with her were the clothes on her back and the address of the Orphanage scrawled on the back of a napkin. Authorities were called, but they weren't able to gather much information. She knew her name was Yukina Ana but she did not know how she had ended up there. No, she had no knowledge of having a quirk. One of the most troubling answers was when she was asked about her parents. In response to being asked if she knew where her mother or father was, she simply tilted her head in confusion and softly asked: "What are those?"

It was plainly obvious that she had been a victim of abuse, but no one could do anything about any of it. She wasn't able to remember anything of her past, nor did she seem to have any desire to. She did not enjoy seeing the scars that covered her body. There were cuts, burns, places where skin had been taken off and places where it had been grafted back on. Her back was riddled with gashes and scars all in various stages of healing; her finger tips so burnt that she hardly had any remainder of a fingerprint.

And yet she still carried on as if her state was something normal.

"I'll start to write more letters of appeal. If we can just find someone to foster her just until we can find her a family..." The stress in Jirara's voice was thinly veiled by nights of exhaustion.

It was then that another scream ripped through the night and an explosion of blue flames followed.


	3. Chapter 3: An Encounter

Hello again~

I am starting to look for other OC's to include in this story! I am looking for a few kids from the orphanage, some neighbors, and some kids in their last year of middle school for right now.

If you're interested, please PM me!

Otherwise, thank you again to BloodyBleedingRoses for editing this chapter~

It seemed to be playing everywhere; from the large screen out in the square, in the TV shops, even his own TV at home.

A huge blue fire had erupted at a local orphanage overnight. Police were investigating the fire, however, everything seemed to point back to a new girl at the house. Two of the staff were badly injured in efforts to subdue the fire and the girl, but the other staff members were able to evacuate all other children and keep them safe.

With a soft tisk, Shouto turned away from the square and continued on his way to U.A. Studies and training were beginning to increase heavily and he couldn't stand to miss anything. With the U.A. sports festival only a matter of weeks away, he knew that it was bound to bring on attention whether he was prepared or not.

Despite his better judgement, he found his feet carrying him towards the orphanage. It was a five minute walk out of his way, but he knew that he had time to spare before the first bell rang, even though he usually made an effort to be early.

The image that met his eyes was truly a sight to see. As he looked over the concrete building, he guessed that the flames had spread out from a room in the corner of the house across much of the exterior, although it didn't seem to have been very intense flames. He subconsciously clenched his left fist as he started to turn away from the police tape.

It was in that moment when two officers walked out of the building with a girl in between them. Her raven black hair fell in bangs that covered the left side of her face, sweeping down to her chin. Dark circles surrounded her eyes as she looked around at the small crowd. Shoto felt her eyes lock onto his, sending a small shiver through his body. The wind had gusted just enough to lift her bangs and reveal a nasty scar running over her icy blue eye. It was only for a second that their eyes met before the wind stopped and all the he could see was her golden right eye.

With a shake of his head he turned around and started to head towards U.A. Even as he walked farther and farther away from the orphanage, he couldn't forget the look in her eyes. It was the look of a cornered animal, of someone who was terrified out of their mind. He knew that look all too well. After all, he had that same look in his eyes every time he looked in the mirror as a child.

He could still remember his time with his father as clear as day. The hours of training and tears every day. Crying until he couldn't breathe; being pushed until he couldn't stand; the isolation from everyone and everything. Every night he would beg for someone to help and rid him from this world of suffering, and one day his mother had stepped in. She had been the hero he always wanted. At least she had been before that day.

He wasn't able to sleep that night because of the shouting and screaming. After that day, his mother grew quieter and quieter as time passed. She avoided him and his father. It was only a matter of weeks before she poured boiling water on his face.

Then, she disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4: Endeavor

Disclaimer:

I really own Ana, that's about it. BNHA is not mine (although I wish it was).

Special thanks to:

Syntax-N for letting me use her OC, Nuduzo. And for her amazing writing which inspires me to try and write even better :)

BloodyBleedingRose for being an awesome beta

I am still looking for a few more characters to join the story, so if you have any you want to join, send them to me~

Chapters are going to start getting longer from here on out.

Thanks for reading,

-Skye

"Mr. Endeavor, you have a letter," came the voice of Nuduzo, Endeavor's newest sidekick. Her quirk, Syntax, allowed her to temporarily transform people and objects into whatever she wished as long as she described the changes a loud. Her short blonde hair framed her face and a pair of wire framed glasses sat on her nose. After she graduated from U.A. last year as first in her class, she surprised them all when she decided to become a sidekick instead of a hero. While she was dedicated to becoming a hero in the future, she felt that it was necessary and important to gain more experience by doing field work. And what better way to do so by being under the study of none other than the Number 2 hero. While Endeavor was very callous and unbending, Nuduzo's own stubborn personality allowed her to hold her own against his everyday overbearingness.

There was a grumble from the man of flames before he turned away from the window and faced Nuduzo. His arms were crossed, as it often was, and his face sat with a slight scowl.

"Who is it from?" He asked curtly.

"Shizuka Orphanage. They had sent one letter previously, but I believe you burned it."

His eyes narrowed at her last comment, but her unyielding blue eyes blazed back at his in defiance. With a sigh he held out his hand and she set the letter in his large palm.

Endeavor didn't wait to make his way over to his desk before he ripped open the letter. It was a simple handwritten note, but something he couldn't quite place drew his attention to the words on the page. Perhaps it was the shortness, perhaps it was the message; whatever it was, he couldn't pin it down.

'A message to Mr. Endeavor of the Endeavor Hero Agency:

Mr. Endeavor, I know that we have sent you one letter previously and I would like to apology for the repetition in this letter, but we beg you to take our situation into consideration. A child has come into our care that we are unable to continue to take care of. Her name is Yukina Ana and she possesses a quirk that allows her to manipulate some sort of dark fog and a blue fire, not unlike yours. We are unsure of the details of her past, but some kind of trauma has left her unable to to control her quirks and they run rampant at night. I am currently writing to you from the hospital after last night's events. It is no secret that you are a master of your power, and we beg of you to consider training or even fostering Ana until we could find a better place for her to stay.

Please consider helping this girl,

-Fukashi Jirara from the Shizuka Orphanage'

He let the letter fall to meet his oak desk as he leaned back in his chair. The note was of sincere origin; the morning's news broadcasts involving the orphanage had left him in a slight state of awe. A child at her age should be able to control her quirk by herself, after all it seemed that she was the same age as her Shouto. Currently he was not actively involved in any cases as he was letting some of his more experienced sidekicks take on some of their own cases.

A frown grew on his face as he thought back to the past. What he had done years ago was nothing short of abuse. His turquoise eyes drifted to his open hands and his frown deepened. It was with those hands that he had hit, slapped, and separated. It was with his own hands that he had split his open his own family. Of course he would not admit it openly, but he harbored a deep regret for his clouded judgement in his younger years. After all, his children had grown cold to him, and his own wife was driven into seeking asylum from him. Turquoise eyes narrowed as he clenched his fist on top of the desk top.

"Nuduzo, call the orphanage, we are making a visit."

"Y-Yes Mr. Endeavor," came the startled reply. The girl hurried out of the room and pulled out her phone to contact the orphanage. It was an unexpected answer from the seemingly cold hearted man who had burned the previous letter. She smiled slightly as she dialed the number that was written at the bottom of the letter and waited for the dial tone to pick up.

Meanwhile Endeavor had slumped in his chair and rested his arms against the desk. His flames weakly spluttered along as he laid his head on his arms. The screams still rang out in his head. He could still hear the shrill cry of Shouto's voice as he begged his father to stop, the scream of Rei as he towered over her; a literal ball of flames filled with rage.

"Rei.. Shouto, Fuyumi, Natsuo…. Touya.. I'm going to fix this. One day, I will." His voice was soft and broken for just a second before he shook his head and scoffed at his own emotions. With that, he rose to his feet and urged the flames back to a blaze.

"What did they say, Nuduzo?" He called out.

"They are excited and awaiting your arrival Mr. Endeavor."

"Grab our coats, let's get going."

The drive to the orphanage was silent as most of their outings were, however, it was nice that for once the car wasn't filled with tension or angst. Instead, a calm had fallen over Endeavor, or perhaps it was more of a solemnity. Nuduzo had very little knowledge of Endeavor's family or personal life, however she knew that things had not been very peachy. The first time she asked about the bedraggled photo he kept in one of his drawers, she had been reprimanded harshly.

"My personal life is nothing you need to worry about." He had said as he snatched the photo back from her. Since then she had only learned bits and pieces of his history.

Endeavor's hands were clenched tightly around the steering wheel as his aquamarine eyes barreled down the road with a seemingly harsh stare. In reality his mind was flooded with thoughts and feelings that he was too scared to admit. His face dropped into a scowl as he slowed down to a red stoplight. If he took in this girl how was he going to take care of her. His house was most definitely large enough, although he had not been home for a matter of days.

The stoplight turned green and he continued on towards the orphanage. Buildings rose to the sky here and there as they sped along. Nuduzo noticed the slight unfocused look in Endeavor's eyes and she smiled softly. As much as he tried to hide his constant flow of emotions under a gruff, harsh mask, she could catch on more than others. Of course it had caught him off guard at the beginning of her internship, but as they began to work together more, both of them had grown more used to her exceptional perception.

"You're not ready to let go of the past, are you," the words were not an accusation, more of a simple statement. Endeavor only replied with silence, however she could tell that she had struck home. His usually drawn back shoulders were slumped forwards and his eyes grew more unfocused.

"You're more than your past, Endeavor." Little did she know how much she was putting into those words.

The man's scowl returned and his eyebrows furrowed. If he was more than his past, then why was he filled with so many regrets. If he was more than his past, why was he still alone. If he was more than his past, then why did everything that he had put his life into never yield him any fruit.

Silence descended once more upon the car. The grandeur of the center of the city had begun to fade and more warehouses and neighborhoods began to dominate the vicinity. They slowed down slightly as they passed by U.A. Academy, but it was only for a few seconds. Nuduzo knew that Endeavor's youngest son attended the school, but that was about it. After only a few more minutes of driving, Endeavor pulled the car over to the side of the street.

The pair were parked in front of a small convenience store in a quaint neighborhood. After paying for the parking meter, they made their way over to the orphanage as it was only a block away.

Nuduzo watched as Endeavor took a large breath and let it out slowly. The woman shook her head and she looked away. He was nervous, but it wasn't her job to expose him. After all, they both had a reputation to keep.

Next chapter should be up in a few days!


	5. Chapter 5: The First Step

So sorry for the wait! I got a little stuck on this chapter, but I also wrote a very angsty chapter for up ahead.

Read and review if you want~

She could still hear the murmurs going around her as she sat on the cool tile. Her hand clutched a ragged looking bear. It's fur was mostly worn away and it no longer held itself up. Instead it hung limply in her arms as the girl drew up her knees to her chest and let her head rest. The police had been swarming for a number of hours already.

"The seventh day in a row.." Her voice was soft and shaky as she closed her eyes. No one was paying her attention anymore anyways.

When the first responders arrived she had been in a state of fear and consternation. All she remembered was waking up to blue flames burning all around her with two bodies laying in her room. There were voices yelling outside, but she couldn't understand anything that they were saying. A sob wretched itself from her throat as she tried to will her body to move, to do anything at all. However, her body was cold and distant and she remained petrified, gawking at the chaos in front of her.

After they had pulled her from the room, the police tried multiple times to understand the situation. They couldn't piece together much from her fragmented memory, and the shouting and the screaming of the sirens had only caused her to close down even more. Ana had sat for hours in the lobby of the orphanage wrapped in a shock blanket, but nothing had changed. When she looked at her hands, all she saw was the blinding darkness and the unmistakable blue flames. Officers were still looking at her room, trying to get evidence. No one was paying her any attention, so she decided to shed the blanket and try and get some air.

The thin framed girl shakily rose to her feet and took a quick glance around. A few police officers were milling around, but none even gave her a second glance. Ana started to make her way to the entrance. Just as she reached her hand to grab the handle, the door swung open and she scrambled backwards. Two officers faced her, although both looked just as surprised as she felt.

"Excuse me miss..-" The younger of the two spoke out as he snuck a glance to the older officer. He looked unsure of how to continue.

"Would you like to go outside?" The older officer flashed her a tired smile as he ruffled the younger one's hair.

"Don't mind Connor, he's new to the force." Connor smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. Ana's eyes slowly drifted up to the older man and nodded slightly. He smiled and led her out the door.

There was a small crowd gathered around looking at the building from behind the police line, but other than that, there wasn't much going on. A gentle wind blew down the street and Ana closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath. When she exhaled, she opened her eyes and looked towards the crowd. Most of the people were simply gathering on their way to work or taking a short walk to look at the damage. However, one person stood out to her. A boy in a school uniform hung near the back of the crowd. His hair was both red and white, and as she glanced at his face, her own eyes widened. The wind picked up just for a moment and her bangs lifted off her left eye. Her own heterochroma orbs met another pair, but just as soon as their eyes had met, he turned around and started to briskly walk away.

"He looks like Koda.." The bear she still clutched in her hand held an uncanny resemblance to the stranger. Half of the fur on his small face was missing. When she had been given him on the first night when she couldn't sleep, he was missing one of his button eyes. Instead of leaving him with only one black button, she looked around and eventually found a small white button to sew on his scarred face. Koda had been the only object that had been spared in any of the fires she caused. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she began to lose herself in thought.

Why? That one simple word began all of her questions now. Why was she here? Why couldn't she remember anything? Why couldn't she control herself? Why, why, why.

A cough brought her out of her thoughts and she jerkily looked towards the source of the cough. It was the older policeman. Underneath his hat she could see shaggy grey hair sticking out, although his washed out blue eyes still remained sharp and intelligent. The other policeman was not wearing a hat, and his dark brown hair was slicked back, although some hairs had managed to escape their prison and hung in his face. His eyes matched his hair, but they held a light of both intrigue and intellect.

Without saying anything, Ana quietly took a seat on the edge of the sidewalk. The sky was a hazy blue with small white clouds scattered across the horizon. In the distance she could vaguely make out the skyscrapers of the city. It was strange because she still had no idea where she actually was. As much as she had tried to wrack her brain for answers, none would come to her. The police had even brought in a detective with a mind reading quirk, but there was simply nothing. She was told that it was as if her appearance at the orphanage, she simply didn't exist. In nearly everyone's mind, she was an unsolvable enigma.

The night terrors that haunted her every time she tried to sleep offered her only were filled with strange places both fantasmic and eyes became hazy as she tried her hardest to remember what had happened last night.

Initially there was excitement. Excitement and awe. Then.. something warm and fuzzy had blossomed inside her heart. Ana sighed as she drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her ankles. The only thing she felt in her heat now was an aching emptiness that craved the warm fuzzy feeling that she didn't know how to name. She drew herself into a tighter ball at the thought of the air being replaced with a terrible vacuum of fear and panic. Then she had been flooded by the strange, calming of the sight of turquoise among a flickering ocean of orange.

By the time she was able to pull her head out of the depths of her mind, she realized that the police had left her and gathered around a figure that was walking into the entrance of the thought that she had seen a flash of flame, but she dismissed it for a trick of her mind. A heavy sigh slipped from her lips as she slowly got to her feet. For a second she wobbled on her toes, but she closed her eyes against the rush of darkness that tinged her vision and took a step forwards.

After a few seconds she opened her eyes again and let her vision return back to normal. It was if her senses had heightened in just those few seconds. Her heart suddenly beat at a faster rhythm, her ears picked up every piece of gravel that crunched under her shoes, and fear flooded her brain for what she could explain as no reason.

Ana pursed her lips and continued her way towards the entrance. Whispers reached her ears, but she couldn't quite make out what they were about.

'A hero is here..'

'Why is _he_ here?'

'Endeavor, huh?'

Of course Ana couldn't understand what was going on. Yes, she was aware of the existence of heroes and what their job entailed, but why was a hero here at some presumably random orphanage?

The moment she walked through the door, every muscle in her body froze. Her mind had not been tricking her earlier, indeed there were flames in the room. In face, they were all streaming off of a stoic man who stood with arms crossed and his back to her. A woman with neat blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders stood next to him. They were holding a quiet conversation as one of the orphanage staff talked to them.

Without thinking, she started to back up; her heart beating out of her chest. Ana had only made a few steps before the staff woman had caught sight of her.

"Ana, why don't you come over here, sweetie?" It seemed as if she would go deaf from how loudly her heartbeat was rushing in her ears. The unyielding pulse hammered her eardrums while she slowly made her way forwards.

The stocky man on fire turned around to face her and her hammering heart nearly stopped at the startling intensity of his turquoise eyes. For a few seconds, she forgot to move. Nothing besides her pounding heart moved an inch.

It was him.

The one who had saved her in her dream.

It was him.

What happened next was a blur in the girl's memory. The hero had introduced himself as Endeavor. The staff member spoke for a while to her, but only a few words caught.

' Leaving, Mr. Endeavor, home. '

Her head spun wildly as her mind flooded with confusion. People were saying things to her, but for some reason, her mind had simply shut off. A woman had asked her something about belongings, but she could only shake her head. After all, she had lost everything in the fires that she had started.

Ana's unfocused eyes found their way to the muscular man who towered above her with his arms crossed. Slowly she looked him over again. His face was masked in flames, and his figure was covered in a navy blue bodysuit that was accented with even more flames. And then, there were his eyes.

Unyielding orbs that burned through the fog in her brain stared down at her. For a moment, she managed to bring her own eyes to meet his. In those scarce seconds, she saw a menagerie of emotions in the seemingly cold man's eyes. He was scared too. Scared and hurt, yet overwhelmingly determined, and even a little.. Proud?

Slowly, she made her way across the foyer towards him and silently stood next to him. His head turned towards her as he flashed her a slightly forced looking smile.

"My hero name is Endeavor, but my name is Enji. Enji Todoroki." His speech was clipped and awkward, however, when she turned her head to look up at him, his eyes were still focused on her. Ana nodded slightly and softly mumbled her name before she started to look back towards the ground. At the last second, she could have sworn that she had seen one of the corners of his mouth turn up in a smile just ever so slightly.

"Mr. Endeavor, would you like me to stay here and get a statement from the police?" The woman who had approached her earlier spoke up. Nuduzo knew that Endeavor wouldn't know what to do, but having her there wouldn't be the best thing for the situation either. Endeavor turned towards her and looked at her slightly confused. She quickly looked to the quiet girl and back to her boss and flashed him a thumbs up. His eyes widened slightly before he nodded and cleared his throat.

"Yes, get a report from the police and assess the damages. We can discuss the formalities later. Thank you." His speech remained curt and concise, but both of the girls could sense the slight relief in his voice.

While the sidekick walked off towards the police gathered by the doorway, Endeavor turned back to Ana and knelt down to be on her level. The girl shrunk a little at the movement, but her eyes turned back towards the man. She thought that she saw a brief look of doubt on his face, but it was gone in an instant.

"I'm sure this is confusing," it didn't seem like the words were coming easily to him, and Endeavor knew it. With a soft sigh, he flashed her a forced smile and held out his head.

"How about we leave this place behind?"


End file.
